You Have No Power Over Me
by tonystarrkk
Summary: After a rough mission in which Tony tries too hard to protect Alex, she wishes him away. Loki responds to her request gleefully, taking Tony to his new realm: the Underground. The god invites Alex to come save her father, but she only has 13 hours to solve the God of Mischief's labyrinth. Can she do it? Slight Bruce/Alex
1. Such a Pity

Alex stood in the middle of the open field, her normally shiny suit covered in scratches and blood. Around her were the bodies of a modern Hydra branch that the group of heroes had been sent to annihilate.

_All in a day's work, _she reflected proudly, but her excitement was quickly replaced with panic.

"Shit, JARVIS, I told Dad I'd be back to base at 1700! Why didn't you tell me I was two hours late?" she cried to no one in particular.

_You seemed so absorbed in your task, _the AI calmly explained, _I wasn't about to ruin your kill streak. You certainly beat your Call of Duty score._

"Well I won't be able to beat it again at this rate! Damn!" With that expletive, she made a running start and took off, probably breaking her speed record as well.

* * *

"I'm sorry, I lost track of time, but I'm here!"

Her entrance was obviously unexpected, because Tony was nowhere to be found. Clint and Natasha, however, greeted her with grim faces.

"Your dad's furious," Clint warned, tightening the bandage on his arm.

"He's taking it out on Fury right now," his partner elaborated, her red hair caked with mud, "says that he shouldn't have sent you out alone."

Alex scowled at the idea of her father yelling at the director. "It's none of his business. I'm back now, I have the information, and there are a couple dozen Hydra goons out of commission. Mission accomplished."

Both agents sighed, but Clint spoke. "I don't think it's as simple as that, Alex."

"Look, Bruce already headed back to the Tower, Thor's back in Asgard researching the Tesseract, and Steve's in the hospital wing getting his arm straightened back out. Go talk to your dad. We're getting out of here." And with that, Natasha took Clint by the injured arm and led him out of the room.

"Damn," Alex swore, "this isn't fair!" As if on cue, Tony stalked into the lobby, a snarl ready to escape his lips.

"Alexandra Virginia, god forbid something isn't fair!" he cried, stepping out of his usual 'calm before the storm' persona.

"Well god forbid I complete a mission but end up going a little overtime!" she snapped right back, taking joy in the red creeping up his neck.

"What if you had been hurt and nobody knew where you were? Or, worse, what if you had been taken hostage? Alex, you need to take things into consideration before you dive in wholeheartedly." Tony must've believed this to be the final word, because he turned around and left her alone.

"I wish someone would take you away," she muttered, lying down on the bench Natasha and Clint had once inhabited. Her power nap, however, was interrupted by a swirl of… glitter?

"What the fuck is going on?" she heard her father say, his voice becoming distant.

"Dad?" she called after him, running down the hallway. Just as she reached him, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. His hunched over form was replaced with a taller, more slender figure.

"Dad, are you all right?" The smoke cleared before her and a loud laugh rang through the hallway. Alex nearly winced as she put the pieces together.

"You're him, aren't you? Loki? I'll have my father back, if it's all the same."

A villainous smirk crept across his pale face. "What's said is said."

"I didn't mean it!"

"Oh, you didn't?" He laughed again, and Alex nearly hit him. Despite her irritation, she attempted to be pleasant.

"Please, where is he?" she pleaded, the politeness foreign in her normally abrasive speech.

"You know very well where he is, Miss Stark," the god responded, and oh she very well knew how much she wanted to throttle him!

"Please bring him back," Alex begged again, "please!"

"Alexandra," Loki cooed, and his voice was like velvet, "go back to your tower. Play with your tools and your suits. Forget about your father."

"I can't."

"I've brought you a gift."

That caught Alex's attention. "What is it?"

The god smirked at her curious expression and reached into his robe pocket. He pulled out a small, transparent ball and began toying with it.

"It's a crystal, nothing more. But if you turn it this way," he tilted it slightly to the left, "and look into it, it will show you your dreams." He must've noticed her attempting to take a peek, because he slid it back into his pocket. "Of course, this isn't for an ordinary girl who gets screamed at by her father. Do you want it? Then forget about your father."

Alex shook her head. "I can't. I appreciate what you're offering, but I want my father back. He must be pissed."

"Alex, don't defy me."

She looked back at the god, her green eyes set determinedly on his.

"You're no match for me," he teased, and she felt her anger rising.

"I need my father back."

"He's there, in my castle."

"This is new for you," she observed. They were surrounded by wasteland, and ahead of them was a heavily fortified castle.

"It isn't Asgard," he admitted, "but it's home. For now, anyway. Do you still want to look for him?"

"Wait," she said, realization dawning over her face, "is that the Castle Beyond the Goblin City?"

Another laugh escaped his lips. "Turn back, Alex. Turn back before it's too late."

"I can't," she countered again, feeling like a broken record, "don't you understand that I can't?"

"What a pity."

She sighed, gazing out over the horizon. "It doesn't look that far."

"It's further than you think. Time is short, Alex." He used his magic to conjure up a clock, a magnificent gold timepiece that hung in front of them. "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the labyrinth before your father becomes mine forever. Such a pity."

Once the god had left her, Alex exhaled sharply. "The Labyrinth," she repeated to herself, "it doesn't look too hard. Come on, feet!" With an optimistic spring in her step, she walked toward the large brick wall, unsure of what trouble the God of Mischief would create for her.


	2. Taking Things for Granted

As she approached, she spotted a figure kneeling on the edge of a pond. She felt her mood soar as she ran over, calling "excuse me! Excuse me?"

The man looked up, a disgruntled expression on his face. "Yes?" he responded, but when he saw her, he shook his head and looked back in the pond. "Oh. It's you."

"Can you help me get through this labyrinth?" Alex asked. _I've seen him somewhere before, _she wondered, _but where?_

"Hmm…" was the only response he got as he took a water sample and swished it around in a glass. _Great,_ she thought, feeling defeated, _the only person I find doesn't even take the time out of his day to talk to me._ She was about to walk away when something sparkled in the corner of her eye.

"Oh, how sweet!" she exclaimed. The lights were fairies! She tried reaching for one when the man hit it with some sort of spray. She shot a glare his way as he called, "58!"

"How could you? You monster!" Alex cried, watching the little blue light drop to the ground. He scoffed at her as she stooped to the ground to rescue the sprite. Just as she grabbed the small figure, however, a pain shot through her finger. "Ow! It bit me!"

The man laughed at her exclamation, spraying the fairy again. "What did you expect fairies to do?"

Alex pouted up at him. "I thought they'd do nice things, like granting wishes."

"Shows what you know, doesn't it?"

She didn't particularly like this conversation, but if it meant getting her father, she would have to endure any sort of person she met.

"You're horrible," she said finally, eyeing up the brown-haired man before her. He turned his brown eyes on her; they were still filled with laughter.

"No, I'm not. I'm Hoggle! Who are you?" he asked, momentarily distracted from the fairies.

"I'm Alex."

"That's what I thought," he replied, spraying again. "59!"

_Forget about the fairies,_ she thought. "Do you know where the door to the Labyrinth is?"

"Maybe."

How _frustrating! _"Well, where is it, then?" The man – Hibble? Hobble? – looked up to see her standing with her hands on her hips.

"Where is what?"

"The door, damn it!"

"What door?"

"Oh! It's hopeless asking you anything, isn't it?"

"Not if you ask the right questions," he said teasingly, his brown eyes sparkling in her direction.

Alex sniffed indignantly, and was about to walk away when it occurred to her.

"How do I get into the Labyrinth?" she requested, and his face lit up with a genuine smile.

"Ah! Now that's more like it. You get in there," he pointed toward an ancient wooden door that popped up in front of them. "You're really going in there, aren't you?"

She turned to see his face filled with wonder. "Yes, I'm afraid I have to." They walked through the door together.

"Cozy, isn't it?" he asked, seeing the slight grimace on her face. "Now, would you go left or right?"

Alex glanced around, confused. "They both look the same to me."

"Well, you're not going to get very far," the man laughed, and Alex glared at him.

"Which way would you go?"

"Me? I wouldn't go either way."

Who would've guessed that the first person she met would be so infuriating? "If that's all the help you're going to be," she replied, her voice dripping with venom, "you can just leave."

The man huffed at her words. "You know your problem?" he asked, "You take too much for granted. Take this Labyrinth… even if you reach the center, you'll never get out again."

"That's your opinion."

"Well it's a lot better than yours."

_Enough socialization with this jerk, _she decided. "Thanks for nothing, Hogwart!" she called as she walked off to the right.

"Oh! It's Hoggle, and don't say I didn't warn you!" The doors slammed shut behind him, and Alex was alone in the Labyrinth.

* * *

She headed down the corridor, not being able to shake the feeling that there was something wrong.

"What do they mean 'Labyrinth'? There aren't any turns or corners or anything! This just goes on and on," she sighed. Hogwart's words bounced around in her head.

_You take too much for granted…_

"Maybe it doesn't," she said finally, "maybe I'm just taking it for granted that it does!"

Alex ran for what seemed like over a mile and there were no turns or corners or anything. She finally stopped, beating her fists against the walls in frustration. A little worm crawled out of a crevice in the wall, unnoticed by the girl.

"'Ello!" it said finally, and Alex jumped back.

"Did you say hello?" she asked. _Of all of Loki's oddities, I never would've expected a talking worm to be on the top of his list._

"No," the worm explained, "I said 'ello, but that's close enough."

"You're a worm, aren't you?" _Better safe than sorry, _she determined, _this might be a trap._

"Yeah, that's right," he replied slowly, put off by her rather obvious question.

"Well, do you know the way through the Labyrinth?"

"Me? No, I'm just a worm."

"Oh." _Well that was disappointing._

"Come inside and meet the missus!" the worm offered, but Alex declined.

"I have to solve this Labyrinth," she clarified, "There aren't any turns or openings, it just goes on and on!"

"It's full of openings!" the worm declared, "it's just you ain't seen 'em!"

"Well, where are they?" she enquired.

"There's one right in front of you!" he happily replied. _At least I know now there are _some _friendly people in this Labyrinth,_ Alex mused, thinking back to Loki and Higgle. But when she turned around, all she saw was an expanse of wall, just like everywhere else.

"No, there isn't," she contradicted, stepping closer to the wall.

"Come inside and have a cup of tea!" the worm put forth again, but this time she only shook her head.

"But there isn't an opening."

"Of course there is! Try walking through it, you'll see what I mean."

"What?" _Is he serious? _

"Go on, then!" he urged, and Alex sighed.

"That's just a wall," she insisted, "there's no way through!"

"Things aren't always as they seem in this place," the worm stated, "so you can't take anything for granted."

_Might as well, _she thought, and took the worm's advice. Much to her surprise, there was, in fact, an opening!

"Hey!" she exclaimed, and headed down to the left.

"Hey! Hang on!" she heard the worm call after her, and she walked back to the opening.

"Thank you, that was incredibly helpful!" _A very nice change of pace._

"But don't go that way!" he replied, and Alex glanced down both ways.

"Oh, thanks!" she said, turning right this time.

Once she was gone, the worm shook his head. "If she had kept on going down that way, she'd have gone straight to the castle!"

Meanwhile, Alex could see the castle in the distance. The sight of it instilled a new hope in her, and she said to herself, "I'm coming, Dad."


End file.
